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Bubbleworks Closing

DelPiero

DelPiero

Strata Poster
https://www.chessington.com/explore/theme-park/attraction/16/bubbleworks.aspx

bubble-works-closure.jpg


Closing this September and will be replaced by a yet unknown attraction but probably just a retheme.

http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/1...ventures_closing_down_iconic_26_year_old_ride
 
It's never been the same since Prof Burp went in 2005 when they killed it with the Imperial Leather re-theme and its been in a sorry state now for years..

Let's hope whatever they re-theme it too is of a good standard. I guess it will probably have an IP which has nothing to do with the Transylvania area.

Seeing as they already use the Madagasgar IP I would love to see something in the style of the Madagascar Crate adventure ride at Universal Singapore. Budget for this won't be anywhere near enough though :lol:
 
A tad sad to see it go, despite it not being as good as it once was. Presumably if it is opening in March 2017 the re-theme can't be anything too spectacular.
 
Sad to see it go as it's a ride I link to my childhood and have fond memories of.

Lately its really been abandoned though - last time I rode it, half the effects weren't working including the flashing lights and fountains in the final room (which was always my favourite part).

Intrigued to see what they're going to do with it.
 
guess it will probably have an IP which has nothing to do with the Transylvania area.
Click to expand...
How did the original bubble works (Pre imperial leather) relate to the Transylvania theme?
Never got to ride it, but did the original have bats, zombies etc?
 
Gazza said:
guess it will probably have an IP which has nothing to do with the Transylvania area.
Click to expand...
How did the original bubble works (Pre imperial leather) relate to the Transylvania theme?
Never got to ride it, but did the original have bats, zombies etc?
Click to expand...

No it had nothing to do with Transylvania either.

Other than Prof. Burp was a kind of crazy professor type character :lol:
 
Gazza said:
guess it will probably have an IP which has nothing to do with the Transylvania area.
Click to expand...
How did the original bubble works (Pre imperial leather) relate to the Transylvania theme?
Never got to ride it, but did the original have bats, zombies etc?
Click to expand...

It was themed to be a Transylvanian soda factory, though there wasn't any actual Transylvanian theming inside, which apart from Vampires isn't exactly easy. It was weird, wacky and funny, then Imperial sponsored it and it went from great to awful and it's been stumbling along since.
It's about time it got rethemed, as it was very very stale, just hoping they have come up with a good theme to reinvigorate the ride.
 
Yeah if you're worried about the new theme not matching Transylvania you might want to refer to both previous incarnations...

I can't say I'm bothered about this, like everyone else says it died in the middle of the noughties anyway.

But, given how **** DBGT is I'm not exactly excited by Merlin's capabilities to deliver dark rides.
 
I know it died properly in the 00s, but this is still significant IMO. Heading down on September 6th if anything wants to join, check out Trip Planning for more info.
 
Looky what's just been announced;
[facebookpost]https://www.facebook.com/Chessington/posts/10154593377459035:0[/facebookpost]
 
Meh.

Knew it was never going to be an original idea like Bubbleworks as no one seems to do that anymore. But when considering all the IP's Merlin could have used or are currently using (Ice Age/Madagasgar/Shrek etc) this is very underwhelming.
 
I disagree. Gruffalo is one of those books which kids absolutely love, I'll be telling my boy about this later and I bet he goes mental, wanting to go tomorrow etc.
It's like the Roald Dahl of my generation and will be looked upon fondly by kids of today. They are looking at a good 10 years at least with this, whereas I'm sure Madagascar and Shrek will be dead in the water as an IP.
 
^ This. I'm no expert on kids, but young kids of numerous friends of mine love this s**t. It's not just the books, but stage shows and stuff as well. Anything Julia Donaldson is massive, admittedly for the under 6 age bracket, but they're clearly going after Paulton's Peppa Pig demographic.
 
Yeah, I think IP wise this is very in date. Those amazing BBC animated films at Christmas have been crazy-popular.

There's a lot of rage on social media (as per usual) saying this is an IP purely aimed at young ones whereas Bubbleworks was enjoyed by all. I think there's a reasonable point in there. Now we just have to wait and see how badly Merlin mess it up.

All week I've seen Disneyland Paris fans crying over Star Wars going into Space Mountain (how it doesn't fit the themed area) but that is no where near as awful as Gruffalo being found in Transylvania and sharing the same exit area as Vampire.
 
Did Bubbleworks ever really fit in with the Transylvania theme? I realise I never rode it in its original incarnation, but it still seemed unfitting with the branding of Vampire.

Not like it's the worst theme dissonance in a Merlin park. Looking at you Rita.
 
It's a great PR for drawing people to the park and could be done really well. I'm not as against the idea as I imagined I would be.
 
I still hate Chessington but the Gruffalo is a very wise IP choice, it's one of those timeless kids stories that will basically always be relevant. The books are certainly immensely popular at my work and the Marlowe theatre often has Gruffalo plays which always draw giant crowds, the fact that families usually dress up and make art of the characters just shows how much the public love it. Given the majority of Chessington's demographic it's the ideal choice.

Am I confident the retheme will have incredible theming and be an immersive, well thought out experience? Of course not, it's Merlin. I'd love them to prove me wrong, I really would. But they won't.
 
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